SEATTLE — Microsoft Corp. said its fiscal first-quarter profit rose 23 percent, bolstered by brisk sales of the new “Halo 3” video game, Windows and Office.
For the quarter ended Sept. 30, Microsoft’s profit climbed to $4.29 billion, or 45 cents per share, from $3.48 billion, or 35 cents per share, during the same period last year.
Results topped Wall Street’s expectations. Analysts, on average, forecast a profit of 39 cents per share, according to a Thomson Financial poll.
Revenue grew 27 percent to $13.76 billion from $10.81 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts were looking for $12.57 billion in sales. The business unit responsible for Windows Vista contributed $4.14 billion in revenue, while the unit that makes Office 2007 brought in $4.11 billion.
Sales of the “Halo 3” video game and the Xbox 360 consoles pushed the company’s entertainment and devices division to a profit of $165 million in the quarter, but the division responsible for online advertising posted a loss of $264 million.
Microsoft increased its guidance for the fiscal year, and said it expected to earn $1.78 to $1.81 per share on revenue of $58.8 billion to $59.7 billion. Earlier, the company predicted it would earn $1.69 to $1.73 per share on $56.8 billion to $57.8 billion in sales.
Shares of Microsoft gained 74 cents, or 2.4 percent, to close at $31.99.
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